Frequently Asked Questions
I get asked so many questions, and I notice that I get some of the same ones over and over each time I post icons. I figured I'd type up a quick FAQ that would hopefully cover most of them, so then I could just link it in my userinfo and hopefully cut down on the questions some. :)
1. How do I credit? Why should I credit?
You do it by going here. In the spaces next to the icon, you can say "Icon by peaces_icons" in your keywords, or something similar, or you can be fancy and say "Icon by peaces_icons" in your comments. Either one is fine. Making a post about it in your LJ doesn't work because it'll get drown out by other entries, and most people know to check your userpics page for info on who made them.
here's an example:
It gives me props for the time I took to make it, and also gives other users a quick way to find me for more like it. So then you don't get that popular "Love your icon, where'd you get it?" quite so often. Everyone wins. :)
2. What programs do you use?
I use Paint Shop Pro 7, Animation Shop 3, and PowerDVD 4. Here is my capping tutorial. My tutorial for making icons is found in #8.
3. Can I add you? Why should I join your icon community?
Unfortunately, my personal journal is my personal space, and as such I don't feel comfortable adding random strangers. Sorry.
If you love me for my icons, you may want to join peaces_icons. I do sometimes post icons, usually from incomplete sets, friends only here. Also, all my requests posts are friends only, so if you ever want a request, you'll have to join first. Make sure that you are a member of the community, not just have it friended, because that's required to see the friends only posts.
4. Do you take requests?
I do occasionally take requests. I usually make a post, friends only, here at peaces_icons announcing that I will take requests. Though sometimes I can't do requests for long periods of time due to personal or computer problems.
5. Can I personalize your icons? Will you add text for me?
If the original icon does not have text, or I post a textless version, feel free to add text to my icons. Just remember to credit me for my work on the icon. Though if you put something especially perverse, I'd appreciate it if you made it clear that you added the text. :P
You can add minor effects as well, so long as you preserve most of the original icon or animation. This is for personal use only, not for sharing in communities. I don't want other people getting the credit for my icons. If one of your personal friends wants to use one of my icons that you customized, that's fine, so long as I get credit. Make sure you do not credit it as a "base". These are definitely not bases. Try crediting as "original icon made by peacefully improved by insertyournamehere" if you want credit for the work you did.
A tip though, if you want to change the colors or add textures, you might want to work out a way to do it to all frames at once. I've noticed that if I edit each individual frame and go to save the animation, it makes the file size skyrocket.
I won't add peoples names or what have you, but if you can think of something clever to go on an icon, I might just add it and post the new icon in a future set for anyone to use. Some of my most popular icons had text thought up by icon fans. :)
6. Can I use your icons on GreatestJournal/DeadJournal/Xanga? How about on a forum?
Sure, just credit by saying something like "peaces_icons at livejournal" when you credit, so they know where to find me. Forums usually have a sig or some kind of bio, a link there would be fine. :)
7. All the pictures I'm downloading are saving as .bmps/non animated icons! Help?
This is a really common problem with Internet Explorer. It's so common I keep this page on the subject bookmarked for when people can't download my icons. So go to that link and it should tell you what the problem is and how to fix it. :)
8. How do you make icons with big animations but low file size?
This is a technique taught to me by wyntermoonwolf. I make the icon as a full animation, then take one of the frames and cut a hole in it for the animated portion, and paste it on top of the other frames so that only the part I want animated shows through. Then when it's optimized, the base flattens and it saves a lot on file size. That's why only a small portion of each of my icons is animated. :) If that doesn't make sense, I posted a tutorial with images here. It's for PSP7 and Animation Shop.
9. Can you/will you make icons from X movie?
If I have it, I'll make a mental note that there's an interest in it. If I don't, I'll keep it in mind when I go to rent movies. However, since I don't take requests, don't expect this question to be immediately met with icons from that movie. :)
10. Do you have any icons from X movie?
I might. Check my memories, I try to keep it up to date. I've done icons of several movies including Snow White, Aladdin, The Lion King, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and Beauty and the Beast.
11. Where do you get your screen caps?
I make most of them (especially the ones for animated icons) myself. I also make caps to share. Here is a link to my cap collection. I also own cap_it and sometimes get caps from there. I usually credit when I do.
12. I'm taking icons from multiple posts in your icon journal, do you want me to comment on each one?
No! Please, if you're taking icons from several posts, please please please just comment on one or two and say "I'm taking some from this post and also this this and this post". It kinda spams me if you comment on several different posts, and it gets annoying.
13. What is hotlinking? How do I know I'm doing it?
Hotlinking is when you use someone elses webspace/webhost/image host to post an image somewhere else. Like if you were to view properties on an icon, copy the web address, and link to it or post it somewhere else. Or if you go to a photobucket and copy their addresses out of the bars below the images. To avoid this, download the image to your own computer and upload it to your own photobucket, webspace, or a site like www.imageshack.us.
14. Would you like to affiliate?
If you would like to become a peaces_icons affiliate, please contact: peacefully (at) livejournal.com, be sure to include a 100x50 (or very close to it) button and make sure your community/journal is icon/graphics, or Disney/Animated movie related. And please specify in your email that peaces_icons is the community you would like to affiliate with since I run several.
If you can think of any more questions for here, go ahead and ask and if it gets asked often enough, I'll add it to this FAQ. Thanks for adding my icon journal, and I hope you all enjoy the icons. :)
1. How do I credit? Why should I credit?
You do it by going here. In the spaces next to the icon, you can say "Icon by peaces_icons" in your keywords, or something similar, or you can be fancy and say "Icon by peaces_icons" in your comments. Either one is fine. Making a post about it in your LJ doesn't work because it'll get drown out by other entries, and most people know to check your userpics page for info on who made them.
here's an example:
It gives me props for the time I took to make it, and also gives other users a quick way to find me for more like it. So then you don't get that popular "Love your icon, where'd you get it?" quite so often. Everyone wins. :)
2. What programs do you use?
I use Paint Shop Pro 7, Animation Shop 3, and PowerDVD 4. Here is my capping tutorial. My tutorial for making icons is found in #8.
3. Can I add you? Why should I join your icon community?
Unfortunately, my personal journal is my personal space, and as such I don't feel comfortable adding random strangers. Sorry.
If you love me for my icons, you may want to join peaces_icons. I do sometimes post icons, usually from incomplete sets, friends only here. Also, all my requests posts are friends only, so if you ever want a request, you'll have to join first. Make sure that you are a member of the community, not just have it friended, because that's required to see the friends only posts.
4. Do you take requests?
I do occasionally take requests. I usually make a post, friends only, here at peaces_icons announcing that I will take requests. Though sometimes I can't do requests for long periods of time due to personal or computer problems.
5. Can I personalize your icons? Will you add text for me?
If the original icon does not have text, or I post a textless version, feel free to add text to my icons. Just remember to credit me for my work on the icon. Though if you put something especially perverse, I'd appreciate it if you made it clear that you added the text. :P
You can add minor effects as well, so long as you preserve most of the original icon or animation. This is for personal use only, not for sharing in communities. I don't want other people getting the credit for my icons. If one of your personal friends wants to use one of my icons that you customized, that's fine, so long as I get credit. Make sure you do not credit it as a "base". These are definitely not bases. Try crediting as "original icon made by peacefully improved by insertyournamehere" if you want credit for the work you did.
A tip though, if you want to change the colors or add textures, you might want to work out a way to do it to all frames at once. I've noticed that if I edit each individual frame and go to save the animation, it makes the file size skyrocket.
I won't add peoples names or what have you, but if you can think of something clever to go on an icon, I might just add it and post the new icon in a future set for anyone to use. Some of my most popular icons had text thought up by icon fans. :)
6. Can I use your icons on GreatestJournal/DeadJournal/Xanga? How about on a forum?
Sure, just credit by saying something like "peaces_icons at livejournal" when you credit, so they know where to find me. Forums usually have a sig or some kind of bio, a link there would be fine. :)
7. All the pictures I'm downloading are saving as .bmps/non animated icons! Help?
This is a really common problem with Internet Explorer. It's so common I keep this page on the subject bookmarked for when people can't download my icons. So go to that link and it should tell you what the problem is and how to fix it. :)
8. How do you make icons with big animations but low file size?
This is a technique taught to me by wyntermoonwolf. I make the icon as a full animation, then take one of the frames and cut a hole in it for the animated portion, and paste it on top of the other frames so that only the part I want animated shows through. Then when it's optimized, the base flattens and it saves a lot on file size. That's why only a small portion of each of my icons is animated. :) If that doesn't make sense, I posted a tutorial with images here. It's for PSP7 and Animation Shop.
9. Can you/will you make icons from X movie?
If I have it, I'll make a mental note that there's an interest in it. If I don't, I'll keep it in mind when I go to rent movies. However, since I don't take requests, don't expect this question to be immediately met with icons from that movie. :)
10. Do you have any icons from X movie?
I might. Check my memories, I try to keep it up to date. I've done icons of several movies including Snow White, Aladdin, The Lion King, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and Beauty and the Beast.
11. Where do you get your screen caps?
I make most of them (especially the ones for animated icons) myself. I also make caps to share. Here is a link to my cap collection. I also own cap_it and sometimes get caps from there. I usually credit when I do.
12. I'm taking icons from multiple posts in your icon journal, do you want me to comment on each one?
No! Please, if you're taking icons from several posts, please please please just comment on one or two and say "I'm taking some from this post and also this this and this post". It kinda spams me if you comment on several different posts, and it gets annoying.
13. What is hotlinking? How do I know I'm doing it?
Hotlinking is when you use someone elses webspace/webhost/image host to post an image somewhere else. Like if you were to view properties on an icon, copy the web address, and link to it or post it somewhere else. Or if you go to a photobucket and copy their addresses out of the bars below the images. To avoid this, download the image to your own computer and upload it to your own photobucket, webspace, or a site like www.imageshack.us.
14. Would you like to affiliate?
If you would like to become a peaces_icons affiliate, please contact: peacefully (at) livejournal.com, be sure to include a 100x50 (or very close to it) button and make sure your community/journal is icon/graphics, or Disney/Animated movie related. And please specify in your email that peaces_icons is the community you would like to affiliate with since I run several.
If you can think of any more questions for here, go ahead and ask and if it gets asked often enough, I'll add it to this FAQ. Thanks for adding my icon journal, and I hope you all enjoy the icons. :)